Valentine’s Day is just around the corner: that time of year when you either exult in your relationship or despair about it—or bemoan/rejoice in your lack of one. A new study suggests that if you would like to be connected in that very special way with someone, the state you choose to live in might play a major role in changing your status from “it’s complicated” to “in a relationship.”
Luckily, we have WalletHub to release highly scientific data on which states are the best for singles in a generous effort to assist those who would like to be doubles (or even...triples?) The personal finance website created 30 key indicators of dating friendliness and applied them to the 50 states. Those metrics included things like the average cost of a haircut (the newly shorn find better love?), how many nightlife options there are per capita and how many single adults there are in the state.
The results are in, and unsurprisingly, California has proven itself to be the best state for singles. Warm weather, beaches, and lots of things for daters to do lead to its high placement on this scale. For similar reasons, New York placed second and Florida third—although we have to point out that all three medalists do terribly in the dating economics category. There, New York at #50 is the most expensive state to date, California is the 49th and Florida is the 36th.
In other fun takeaways, New Mexico has the highest share of singles, Maine has the best gender balance of singles and Washington has the best online dating opportunities. Of course, you’re waiting for this paragraph to end so you can just skip ahead and find out what other states are in the top 10. And for the full list, you can click here.
Here are the best states for singles seeking a relationship:
1. California
2. New York
3. Florida
4. Texas
5. Pennsylvania
6. Illinois
7. New Jersey
8. Massachusetts
9. Wisconsin
10. Virginia
Okay, you're thinking more strategically? Here's our list of which cities are best for dating.